ENR Mountain States & Southwest recently announced the main category winners for the Mountain States Best Projects competition, which recognizes the best in design and construction in two separate contests: one for projects located in Colorado/Wyoming, and one for projects located in the Intermountain area of Idaho, Montana and Utah. In addition to those awards, judges selected from all the winners three projects in each sub-region as finalists for this year’s Project of the Year. Experts in safety and sustainability selected winners for those special awards as well. 

The winning project teams will be recognized at breakfast programs in Salt Lake City on Dec. 2 and in Denver on Dec. 4. Click here for more details about the events and to register for the awards celebration in your area.

At each event we will also recognize other award winners from throughout the year, including Owners of the Year, Design Firms of the Year and our Contractors of the Year.

The 2025 Project of the Year finalists are listed below in alphabetical order. 

Colorado/Wyoming

• Denver International Airport United Airlines Concourse B Gates of the Future, located in Denver. Submitted by Swinerton
• Populus Hotel, located in Denver. Submitted by Hunt Electric
• T3 RiNo, located in Denver. Submitted by Whiting-Turner

Intermountain (for projects in Idaho, Montana, Utah)

• City of Boise Fire Staton No. 5, located in Boise. Submitted by ESI Construction
• Deseret Peak High School, located in Tooele, Utah. Submitted by Hughes General Contractors
• Zion’s Block Improvements, located in Vernal, Utah. Submitted by BHI

A panel of safety experts selected the Excellence in Safety winners, with a special emphasis on safety programs, cultures and results. Judges did not score projects their firm worked on or any projects with which they had a conflict. Our safety panel judges are:

• Daniel Milinazzo, safety director, Hensel Phelps
• Matt Ogle, senior safety manager, JE Dunn
• Rick Zellen, senior safety director, Holder Construction

Colorado/Wyoming Safety Awards

• Excellence in Safety Award: 1900 Lawrence, located in Denver. Submitted by Hensel Phelps
• Award of Merit: Arvada Aquatics Center, located in Arvada, Colo. Submitted by Saunders Construction
• Award of Merit: Boulder 63rd Water Treatment Facility Campus Electrical & High Service Pump Station, located in Boulder, Colo. Submitted by Weifield Group Contracting 

Intermountain Safety Awards

• Excellence in Safety Award: Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, located in Park City, Utah. Submitted by Jacobsen Construction

Another panel of experts selected our Excellence in Sustainability winners, focusing on projects that exceeded sustainable design and construction goals. Our safety panel judges are:

• Jillian Cornelius, project architect, Method Studio
• Kris Kreymborg, construction executive, JHL Constructors

Colorado/Wyoming Sustainability Awards

• Excellence in Sustainability Award: Denver Public Schools Responsive Arts & STEAM Academy, located in Denver. Submitted by Swinerton
• Award of Merit: 1900 Lawrence, located in Denver. Submitted by Hensel Phelps

Intermountain Sustainability Awards

• Excellence in Sustainability Award: Westminster University L.S. Skaggs Integrated Wellness Center, located in Salt Lake City. Submitted by Jacobsen Construction
• Award of Merit: Astra Tower, located in Salt Lake City. Submitted by Jacobsen Construction